Research Interests
- neuroanatomical plasticity, hormones, development, cognition
Research Description
My students and I examine hormonal influences on neuronal structure. The emphasis is on cognitive parts of the rat brain, such as the cerebral cortex, corpus callosum and hippocampus, and on cognitive behavior. Our current projects include the neural and behavioral changes during adolescence and puberty and the effects of endocrine disruptors (eg, BPA) during early development and during adolescence.
Education
- Ph.D. from the University of Colorado
- M.A. University of Illinois
- B.A. Lawrence University
Additional Campus Affiliations
Recent Publications
Moody, L., Kougias, D., Jung, P. M., Digan, I., Hong, A., Gorski, A., ... Pan, Y-X. (2019). Perinatal phthalate and high-fat diet exposure induce sex-specific changes in adipocyte size and DNA methylation. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 65, 15-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnutbio.2018.11.005
Hankosky, E. R., Westbrook, S. R., Haake, R. M., Willing, J., Raetzman, L. T., Juraska, J. M., & Gulley, J. M. (2018). Age- and sex-dependent effects of methamphetamine on cognitive flexibility and 5-HT 2C receptor localization in the orbitofrontal cortex of Sprague-Dawley rats Behavioural Brain Research, 349, 16-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2018.04.047
Kougias, D. G., Sellinger, E. P., Willing, J., & Juraska, J. M. (2018). Perinatal exposure to an environmentally relevant mixture of phthalates results in a lower number of neurons and synapses in the medial prefrontal cortex and decreased cognitive flexibility in adult male and female rats. Journal of Neuroscience, 38(31), 6864-6872. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0607-18.2018
Kougias, D. G., Cortes, L. R., Moody, L., Rhoads, S., Pan, Y-X., & Juraska, J. M. (2018). Effects of perinatal exposure to phthalates and a high-fat diet on maternal behavior and pup development and social play. Endocrinology, 159(2), 1088-1105. https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2017-03047
Wise, L. M., Hernández-Saavedra, D., Boas, S. M., Pan, Y-X., & Juraska, J. M. (Accepted/In press). Perinatal High-Fat Diet and Bisphenol A: Effects on Behavior and Gene Expression in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex. Developmental Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1159/000494879
